By Prince Okafor

Lagos State Government has raised N6.25 billion for its Employment Trust Fund, ETF, as first tranche of the N25 billion funding program for self employment generation in the State.

Governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode,

who made this known at the 5^th edition of the EU-Nigeria business forum, said the ETF was basically conceived to support young and upcoming entrepreneurs to establish small businesses with little capital requirement.

Ambode who was represented by the Secretary to the state Government, Mr. Tunji Bello also said the state has signed Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Kebbi State Government on rice, wheat, groundnut, onions, maize and beef value chains.

This partnership, according to him, will contribute to national self-sufficiency in rice production by about 70 percent.

He stated: “Investment opportunities still abound and desirous investors are guaranteed government support to remove log-jams and bottlenecks that impede the ease of doing business.

“Generally, our investment drive is yielding the desired result. The Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment also known as Lagos Global, has continued to provide support services to both existing and potential investors; and it is heart-warming to disclose that Lagos has become a preferred choice destination for foreign investors.

According to the Head of EU Delegation in Nigeria, Ambassador Michael Arrion, “The European Union and Nigeria have developed robust economic relations with very large trade volumes at €30 billion in 2015.

“The EU is the top destination for oil and non-oil exports from Nigeria.”

On her part, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Nike Akande, stated: “These relationships are more critical for the Nigerian economy now than ever before. We need to attract as much investment as we can at this crucial time.

“The decline in crude oil price has considerably changed our development focus for good. We are taking steps to reduce our reliance on oil.

“A lot of attention is now being paid to manufacturing, agriculture and agro allied industries, solid minerals, ICT, entertainment and tourism and many other

areas in the non-oil sector.

“The government is also focussing on the development of infrastructure to enhance the productivity of the non-oil sector of the economy. Infrastructure provision such as power and transport offers tremendous opportunities for investment which the EU investors can explore at this time.”